The Answers Are Closer Than They Seem
by Rhenns Star
Summary: As a Forensic Pathologist and a Special Agent, Serena Johnson, the head of the Forensics Division of the FBI has been assigned to work with psychic, Darien Bennett, to solve a string of murders.
1. Default Chapter

A/U fic  
Disclaimer:IDOSM  
  
  
  
  
  
*Ring!...*Ring!!...*Ring!!!  
  
"All right, all right I'm up....hello?" Serena said groggily into the phone's receiver.  
  
"Special agent Johnson, we need you at the bureau right away." Said Monroe, the assistant director of the Cyber Division.  
  
"I'm on my way ma'am"  
  
click.  
  
After dressing in a record of 45 seconds, Serena ran out the door and quickly drove to the bureau. Serena could tell something was up. After working 6 years for the FBI, Serena had known if "The Boss" calls you personally and tells you to get your butt to the bureau, there was something going down. Whether it be inspection, a hostage situation, or...homicide. And after working for those 6 years, she was never allowed to, as Monroe said "Lead the pack into the bears cave." Never once had she lead a team in an assignment, but what would complaining get her. Pulling into the parking structure, Serena got out of her car and ran as fast as she could in heels to the elevator which would take her to the seventh floor.   
  
Knock. Knock. Knock.  
  
"Come in Johnson" said Jana Monroe  
  
"Yes, ma'am you wanted to see me?" Serena said noticing there was an unfamiliar person in the office.  
  
"Right. Johnson, let me introduce to you Mr. Darien Bennett. Mr. Bennett, this is special agent Serena Johnson." Mrs. Monroe said allowing them to shake hands before continuing "i have an assignment for you Johnson. You and Mr. Bennett are going to produce for me a team of 4 agents including yourself, from the criminal investigative division by noon, at which I will inform you two along with the rest of the team of the assignment."  
  
"Yes ma'am" Serena said.  
  
"All right...now go find your team."  
  
As Serena and Darien excited the office they were both busy wondering what they needed a team for.  
  
  
By noon, Serena and Darien were sitting in the briefing room along with the team they conjured up, waiting for Monroe to arrive. Making small talk with each other about why they supposed they were there, they were suddenly hushed by Monroe slamming a rather large file on the desk.  
  
"Is this the team?" Monroe asked.  
  
"Yes ma'am" Serena said.  
  
"Good. I want all of you to introduce yourselves starting with you Johnson."  
  
"I'm Special Agent Serena Johnson, also forensic pathologist, head of the forensic division. I work either in the lab or on special cases." Serena sat back down and Darien stood up.  
  
"I'm Darien Bennett. I'm not part of the FBI, but I'm a psychic. I often have visions of brutal crimes which is why I suppose I'm here."   
  
"I'm Special Agent Raye Sanders. I work in finger printing. I'm also a crime scene photographer."  
  
"I'm Colonel Ken Harding. I am a weapons genius. I know everything there is to know about any weapon."  
  
"I'm Special Agent Lita Morgan. I work in the criminal investigative division. I'm usually called in when we have a killer on our hands."  
  
"I'm Andrew Thomas. I guess I'm the computer genius of this team. I'm a hacker for the CIA"  
  
Monroe stood quiet as if deciding whether they matched her expectations. Finally she spoke, "All right. I have an assignment for you." Turning on the overhead projector and shutting off the light, she began once again. "There was a murder back in 1975 that completely by passed the bureau. It seems someone misplaced the file and the case was never solved." Going through photos, she stopped at one highly graphic photo of a young girl. "Several weeks ago, there was a body found on Cambridge Avenue near the mouth of the river. While looking for the Cambridge file, Agent Stanton found the missing file of the unsolved murder of 1975. After bringing it to my attention, I decided to go over both files. I then noticed how similar they were according to the police records. Both victims were bound to prevent escape and hit in the head 3 times with a blunt object. There were also marks on the neck leading to the assumption of strangulation along with no evidence of sexual assault. I consulted the Director of the FBI and it may be that what we have here are the very first stages of a serial killer." Shutting off the projector and turning the lights back on, Monroe looked at Serena and said, "Johnson, I want you to head up this team and find our killer."  
  
As shocked as she was, all she could do was nod and say "Yes ma'am."  
  
"I'll leave you and your team here where you can get to work on the case. Good luck."  
  
Heels clicked against the tiled floor as Jana Monroe walked out of the briefing room where she left her niece Serena Johnson to head up her first case. She just hoped she was doing the right thing.  
  
"All right, how about we take a break for lunch then meet back here in about an hour." Serena said.  
  
Chairs were heard screeching against the floor as they were being pulled out and pushed in to allow their occupant's dismissal. Serena thought about it and figured she'd have Raye and Andrew, Lita and Ken, and Darien and herself work in these pairs. Taking the chance to get to know Darien, she walked over to him and asked if he wanted to accompany her to lunch at the deli down the street. Getting the answer she wanted, Darien and Serena walked the 2 blocks to the deli.  
  
"So Darien...What do you mean you have visions of brutal crimes?" Serena asked.  
  
"Well, the first vision I had was of the 1975 case. It seemed like a dream, but I felt like I was watching the murder through the eyes of the killer. I was only three when I had that first vision but it ends up becoming some dream of mine. I've had that same recurring dream since then, but a month ago I started having a new dream. I saw a girl, maybe about 12 years old crying and begging for this person not to hurt her. I really thought she'd be safe since the person hadn't hurt her in the hours that they'd had her, but then I saw it, I saw it out of the corner of my eye. A hammer came down swiftly onto her head and I tried to stop it...I tried to wake up, but it was no use. I watched her die before my eyes and the real terror came the next morning. I turned on the 6 o'clock news to see her picture and to her that she had been murdered. Since then I've seen her being killed every time I fall asleep."   
  
"I'm so sorry you have to go through this Darien" Serena said as she gently laid her hand on his.  
  
"I'm all right, I just wanna help you know?"  
  
"yeah" Serena said "I know"  
  
  
  
Serena opened the door to her apartment as she dragged in a box of files and evidence. Over the past 10 hours, Lita, Andrew, Raye, Ken, Darien, and Serena have been going over the files and the evidence found in the cases. Looking over the records they found that there was nothing at all to identify who the killer is or might be, whether it be a hair or a finger print. After they heard the description of the murder supplied by Darien, they also realized that they were dealing with an experienced murderer. Wanting to take charge and get on her aunt's good side, Serena took it upon herself to sort through all the murder files from the last 20 years to see if there were similarities in any of them.   
  
By the time she finally got tired it was 3:36 A.M. With the papers still scattered in her living room, she walked into her room, changed into pajama's and got into bed.  
  
As she lay in bed, she can't help but think of the events that took place earlier today. First, being assigned to this case which she got to head up, second having Darien tell her about his problem and third being stuck in the office all day looking over the files. looking over at the clock that read 3:53 A.M., she decide to push these thoughts from my mind and get some rest, but I assure you, sleep didn't come so easily. At that moment, someone had decide to call her. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, wanting to kill the person on the other end of the line for depriving her of sleep, she answered the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Hello?" Serena asked again.  
  
"Serena?" Came the shaky voice of Darien.  
  
"Darien? What's wrong?" Serena said noticing his fear.  
  
Sighing, Darien spoke, "It happened again...there's been another murder." 


	2. chapter 1

Disclaimer: IDOSM  
  
  
Chapter1  
  
  
Arriving at the scene, a cheap gas station, Serena notices that a small crowd has formed around the parking lot. She pushes her way through the people and walks over to the police commissioner.  
  
"Commissioner Douglas, can you get some of your men out here to patrol the perimeter. We need these people out of here if we're going to do our job." Serena says.  
  
"Of course, agent Johnson. I'll get back up over here right away."  
  
Muttering a quick thank you, Serena spots the rest of her team at the trash bins near the back of the building. Ducking under the yellow caution tape, she noticed small trickles of blood leading from the tape to the bins.  
  
"Morgan, what's the situation?"   
  
"Well, agent Johnson...there are traces of blood leading to these bins where our killer left the murder weapons. The body hasn't been found yet, but we found fragments of human hair stuck on the bolt of this wrench ma'am" Lita said holding up a plastic bag containing the tool.  
  
"Ok people, we need to do an extensive search of the area. I want to cover all grounds within a 15 mile radius. Morgan, Harding, I want the two of you to search the bins. I expect every detail on anything you find pertaining to the incident reported to me right away. Thomas, Sanders, I'm assigning you to first get the story from Bennett. After the three of you are done, start looking for any signs of the body. I'm going to help calm the situation then I'll help you three. Well, let's get to it."  
  
With everyone going in their different directions, Serena tried to get rid of the press.  
  
"Agent Johnson, Kelly Gibson from channel 7 news. Is it true the body has not yet been recovered?"  
  
"At the moment, I can't disclose that information, but I can say that we, in the bureau and in the police department, are doing everything we possibly can to resolve the situation."  
  
"What about the killer. He's still on the loose. Shouldn't there be some kind of search going on to track him down? The county isn't safe with a murderer on the run." Said another annoying reporter.  
  
"As I stated before, we're doing everything we possibly can to resolve this situation. After going through the evidence in the lab, I'm sure we'll at least have some clue about the person we're dealing with. Now, can you all please leave the scene? We have a murder to investigate."  
  
  
Letting the newly arrived police officers deal with the press, Serena went to check up on the others. Seeing that Raye and Andrew were still getting the details from Darien, she headed over to the trash bins where Lita and Ken were searching.  
  
"Have you found anything yet?" Serena asked.  
  
"No, we haven't, but Ken here was just about to scrape some of that blood up into a vile to take to the lab." Lita said resuming her search of the continents in the bin.  
  
"Ken, Continue with Lita. I'll get that blood since I'm going over to the lab soon anyway."   
  
About 5 feet away, Serena found a small pool of blood to extract at least a drop from. Carefully letting it drop into the vile, she put the small lid over the opening and placed it into her coat pocket. While getting up, she noticed another smudge of blood on the concrete. Looking closer, it seemed that whoever left that blood, tried to wash it off, and nearly succeeding. Upon touching the spot, a small bit of bloody water accumulated on her finger. Looking all around the area, she found another stain of watered down blood on the floor. Then another a few inches away which eventually formed a long connected line of blood stained concrete. Serena followed the blood stain for about a hundred yards until she came upon the missing body. Cursing a few times, she took out her cell phone and called the others.  
  
"Raye, I need you all to come quick, I found the body. It seems whoever did this to her, scattered maggots over her body, I suppose to feed on her flesh. Yeah I know, these creeps will do anything to get rid of their tracks. Where am I? You know where the sycamores are in these woods? Well, I'm just past them. All right I'll see you in 5."  
  
She hung up her phone and placed it in the inside pocket of her coat, where she pulled two rubber gloves from. After placing them on her hands she took out a notepad, pencil, and a small ruler to measure the contusions or marks on the body. Careful not to move the corpse, she quickly and efficiently took the measures of the contusions and wrote them down. As she was putting the information away, the others arrived.  
  
"Raye, could you photograph the body now." Turning toward the others she started again, "I want all the evidence and the body in my lab within the next 30 minutes, so we need to gather everything ASAP and get this area clear."   
  
Raye took the photos with the others combing the area for evidence. Finally at 6:27 A.M., the scene was in order again as the police and FBI were headed back to their own offices.  
  
  
Pulling into the parking structure for the Forensic Division, Serena and Darien along with Raye got out of the car and headed into the lab where the body was being taken by the 2 paramedics.  
Once inside the lab, the paramedics placed the body on the autopsy table and left the building. The two agents and psychic put on the required hospital scrubs, rubber gloves, and hair nets to start the autopsy on the body.  
  
Pulling the sheet away from the body, Serena first examined the contusions along the chest and arms. Then she examined the 3 lacerations on the frontal right part of the head with minimal brain injury, consistent with blows to the head. The toxicology tests indicate that she had a high amount of alcohol in her system, but there was no evidence of sexual assault. Marks on the neck are consistent with ligature marks, indicating the girl was strangled. Finally she examined the evidence and summed up exactly what had happened to this girl.  
  
"All right, so from what I concluded, the lacerations or deep cuts made on the right frontal portion of the head were made by the wrench, which explains the hair on the bolt. The DNA matches that of Suzy Harper, a 14 year old student at Windom Middle School and the cause of death is strangulation. That's it, there isn't anymore evidence to help surface the killer."  
  
Starting to once again cover the body, Raye stopped Serena and looked at one of the Markings on the girl's forearm.   
  
"Serena, what are these marks from?"   
  
"They're from the maggots that she had on her body, why?"  
  
"Because," Raye grabbed a case out of her pocket, opened it, and began dusting the girls arm with powder before continuing, "I think these maggots were left on her body to cover this."  
Turning the girls arm, Raye showed them what she had been talking about. Right below the eaten away skin, was half of a fingerprint. 


	3. chapter 2

i know this chapter is short but its all i got to write before my dad kicked me off the computer.  
anyway, read on and enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: IDOSM  
  
  
  
  
  
"Raye, get right on this and take the print down. Darien, call Lita, Andrew, and Ken. Have them get over here right away. I'm gonna take a look at the body from the last murder."  
  
With Raye lifting the print and Darien making the call, Serena went to bring out the body which had been preserved in the lab since the murder. Wheeling the gurney next to the newest victim, Serena pulled the sheet back and reexamined the body. When this body had been recovered, there were maggots on certain areas of the body, but she just figured they had been the newly hatched maggots of the flies from the crime scene. Finding the same marks, she took the laser from its place on the adjacent table and pointed it at and around the areas where the maggot marks were visible. She found a mark, but it seemed to be only a piece of a fingerprint. Carefully lifting it, she took it to where Raye was analyzing the previous print.  
  
"Raye, I found another mark on the other body. It looks like a small portion of a fingerprint."  
  
"Well, Serena, what do you suggest we do?"  
  
"Let's get these prints scanned into the computer data base, then we could see which prints match these."  
  
With the prints scanned and put into the data base, Serena and Raye awaited the results.  
  
"The prints aren't really that accurate. It looks like these are prints from different fingers." Raye said.  
  
"Well, since we're not gonna get this resolved before we get the entire print, let's just head back to the office with the others."  
  
Placing tools and corpses back in their places, Serena and Raye met Darien in the parking structure where Lita, Andrew and Ken had just arrived. They took the five minute walk to the main building in the bureau where the offices were. Opening the door to the third briefing room, currently their meeting place for case discussions, everyone took a seat and tried to piece out the information.  
  
"Well, the fact is, we won't be able to run a search until we get the entire print." Raye said   
  
"Is there anything we can do in the mean time to try and figure out the identity of our murderer?" Ken said.  
  
"I'm afraid not. She's right. He mutilated his own fingers so that the authorities wouldn't be able to trace him by his prints." Darien said.  
  
"How did you know he mutilated himself?" Andrew asked.  
  
"I remember it from my dream. Right after his first murder, he realized the feds were coming close to finding out who he was, so he mutilated his fingerprints and stitched them back on to his fingers in a random order."  
  
Silence filled the room but was soon interrupted by Monroe.   
  
"Good Morning everyone. How's the case coming along?" Monroe asked.  
  
"Well, ma'am, we haven't quite figured it out yet but we've come close to figuring out who the killer is." Lita said.  
  
"Is that so...all of you may go home, except you Johnson. I would like to see you in my office. Now."  
  
Getting up and following Monroe into her office, Serena sat down in the burgundy wooden chair across from Monroe's black leather chair.   
  
"I'm really proud of you, you know. I mean, you've doing exceptionally well on this case and I know that I picked the one person who would bring the murderer to justice."  
  
Serena and her aunt Jana had never been close. Every since Serena's parents left her on her aunt's doorstep, Jana had felt Serena was more of a burden than a blessing. Serena, who had never really felt loved in her entire life, had been a very independent person with a terrible attitude. This was one of the many reasons Jana was never able to express her true feelings. Figuring Serena would become upset, she held back her comments until she could find the right time to express her love to Serena. She'd never once in her life, said anything remotely nice to her niece and she was feeling kind of worried when Serena didn't say anything. After a long moment of silence Serena finally spoke.  
  
"I...I...Thank you." Serena said with tears clouding her vision.  
  
After talking for at least three hours, they shared tales of old boyfriends, embarrassing moments, and began acting like mother and daughter.  
  
  
Serena had returned home after a strange but seemingly OK day. Locking her doors and settling down with a Stephen King book, she began to read until the phone rang, bringing her out of her trace.   
  
"Hello?" She said.  
  
"Agent Johnson, we need you at the bureau imediatly." Said one of the senior agents, "Its Monroe... She's been Murdered." 


End file.
